Tour of Missouri & an Indian Motorcycle

The 2nd stage of the Tour of Missouri came to Springfield today. There was a great crowd downtown where the stage ended after completing two laps around a circuit in the downtown. We saw the racers three times at our location on the circuit. The finish was more exciting this year because the entire peloton came through at the same time. Last year there was a small breakaway group with George Hincapie winning the stage. Today, Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia repeated his win of yesterday's first stage. I also saw a nicely restored Indian Motorcycle.

Kevin Umlauf Celebrate Life Ride

The ride started in Battlefield at 7:00 AM, but Doug, Rae, Tom, Neil and I rode to the start, which added over 12 miles for me each way. I rode over to Doug and Rae's house and arrived at about 6:10 AM. The skies were clear but it was cool, and I wore my rain jacket hoping to ward off the rain forecasted for later in the day. Doug and Rae then decided to bring their rain gear along too. Tom showed up about 6:15 AM and we headed out. Neil caught up with us about halfway to Battlefield.

We rode into Battlefield about 6:55 AM, just in time to register and take off my rain jacket because the rising sun had warmed things up. We headed out about 7:05 AM into the hills and fog south of Battlefield towards Nixa. From Nixa, we headed west to Clever and the second rest stop with boiled potatoes, pickles and home-baked cookies. We continued west through Billings. Just west of Billings, the 50-mile route headed north and the 70-mile route to the south. Neil had to get back early, so he headed north. At Tom's urging the rest of us headed south. Marionville was the western most town on the route, and there was another rest stop in the City park. We passed back through Billings before it started to rain and I put my rain gear back on. The final rest stop was at the Republic Community Center where there were more boiled potatoes and pickles. It was still raining when we pulled into the finish back in Battlefield. The Unlauf family treated us to great lunch of pork chops, deep-fried new potatoes and green beans.

The rain had stopped when we headed north for home. Doug had a slight mishap on a slick bridge on the greenway trail and Rae had a flat tire, so we were delayed getting back. Overall it was a great ride.

Chris the tri-athlete















Riding east through the fog















Doug, Tom, Rae and Neil















Buck, Tom and Doug passing through the Marionville Square

The Verb to Be by Les Barker

Not really about cycling, but similar thoughts pass through my mind riding long brevets at night.

Waffle Bike

Complete construction and operating instructions are provided in the video.

RUSA 10th Anniversary Ride, 8/16/08

One couldn't have asked for a better day to ride than Saturday when I participated in the St. Louis Randonneuring 200K brevet in Edwardsville, IL. The ride, like others across the country, was held to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Randonneurs USA. John Jost, the RBA, sent the nine riders off at 7:00. The route out of Edwardsville is along a paved trail, but we quickly broke out into the cornfields of Illinois. I have never ridden in this area this late in the summer, and the corn was quite high. Although, there is not much to see at other times of the year except endless fields.

I did not match up well with any of the other riders, so I rode most of the time on my own. We would usually connect at the checkpoints and visit for a while. On the way out of Okawville, my right knee began to bother me and I began spinning more so as not to aggravate it too much. I am not sure what the problem was, but I had spent the prior two days sitting in very uncomfortable chairs at a workshop. I finished the ride at 16:31, loaded my bike in the car and headed home to Springfield.

The Start















Along the Trail















Into the Corn Fields

Summer Streets 2008 (NYC)

The New York City Department of Transportation held its first Summer Streets event on Saturday, August 9, 2008, by opening 7 miles of city streets to pedestrians and bike traffic only. From 7 AM to 1 PM, roads were car-free from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge with Park Avenue serving as the backbone of the route.

New Southwest Missouri Randonneuring Website

I have not been posting lately because I have been putting my time into developing a website, Southwest Missouri Randonneuring. I am applying to Randonneurs USA to bring brevets to the Springfield area, hopefully starting this November. Until then, you can ride one of my three Permanents if you are a RUSA member. Stay tuned.